Hannaford & Memorial Hospital Team Up to Offer FOODPLAY

NORTH CONWAY, NH – Thanks to a partnership between Memorial Hospital and Hannaford Supermarkets, kids and families will have fun learning how to take charge of growing up healthy, happy, and fit! FOODPLAY is coming to town, bringing its national award-winning theater show, amazing feats of juggling, motivating health messages, music, magic, and audience participation to turn kids on to healthy eating and active lifestyles.

As a special pre-show highlight, Memorial Hospital's Let's Go program will be offering free fruit smoothies and a demonstration of its popular Smoothie bike. Free information about Let's Go, which seeks to limit screen time, decrease sugary drink consumption and increase exercise, will also be available for families. Staff from the Miranda Center for Diabetes at Memorial Hospital will also be at the pre-show to share good nutrition guidelines in a family-friendly fashion.

Memorial Hospital is also hosting an End 68 Hours of Hunger food drive as part of the event. End 68 Hours distributes food items to children in need in the community. Food items requested include peanut butter, jelly, canned soup, macaroni and cheese and other simple items kids can prepare for themselves. For a complete list, visit their website: http://www.end68hoursofhunger.org/donate/

During FOODPLAY’s fun-filled performance, children watch as Janey Junkfood desperately tries to make the National Junior Juggling Team. The problem – her poor eating habits. As FOODPLAY unfolds, children are empowered with the consumer skills needed to make sense of a confusing food marketplace. They learn how to see through TV commercials, decipher food labels, and “read it before you eat it!” Teachers come away with new insights too, as many adults don’t realize that ingredients are listed on food labels in order by weight, with the main ingredient listed first. Kids are alarmed to see how much sugar is found in many of their favorite foods from 10 teaspoons of sugar in a can of soda, to sugar being a main ingredient in a popular sports drink.

With upbeat song and dance routines, kids discover the benefits of fruits and vegetables. Kids learn how to balance their diets using MyPlate which features the five food groups – grains, proteins, dairy, fruits, and vegetables. Janey discovers there are far better choices than her “MacGreasyKings” lunch as Coach transforms her dull lifeless meal into a fresh colorful plate bursting with flavor and nutrients. Kids learn how to fill half their plate with fruits and veggies and cheer Janey on as she successfully juggles five fruits and veggies – the recommended number of daily servings. And, students learn “they can get MyPlate right here at their school, their cafeteria will serve it every day for lunch, how cool!”

Founded in 1982 by nutritionist, Barbara Storper, MS, RDN, a leader in the field of children’s nutrition, FoodPlay Productions tours the nation’s schools and communities using the power of live theater and interactive media to turn kids on to healthy eating and active living. FoodPlay has reached over four million children across the country and received over 10 national nutrition, public health, and media awards plus an Emmy Award when made for TV. According to USDA-sponsored evaluations, FoodPlay programs dramatically improve children’s eating and physical activity habits, and they take the messages home. For fun food tips, activities, and resources, visit: http://www.foodplay.com.

Doors open at 10am for the Smoothie Bike pre-show. FoodPlay performance starts at approximately 10:30am. Guests are encouraged to show up at 10am as this is an open seating event - no advance reservations are required. Special thanks to Believe in Books Literacy Foundation for their donation of the use of their theater for this event.

About Memorial HospitalMemorial Hospital is a not-for-profit 25-bed Critical Access Hospital located in North Conway, NH, and is a member of the MaineHealth family. Its hospital services include a 24-hour emergency department, surgery center, clinical laboratory, heart health & wellness programs, family birthing center, sleep center, wound care and hyperbaric medicine center, oncology, chemotherapy and infusion services and the Miranda Center for Diabetes. Physician practices include primary care and family medicine, women's health, orthopedics and sports medicine. The Merriman House, a 45-bed nursing home specializing in Alzheimer's and other memory disorders, is also located on the hospital campus. Together, our staff and providers are committed to meeting the health needs of the Mt. Washington Valley and surrounding communities by collaborating with community partners in the delivery of accessible, comprehensive, compassionate, and quality health care.